OpenAI’s Secretive Converge 2 Program Sparks Speculation in the AI Community!

Last December, OpenAI announced that it was opening applications for its second cohort of a six-week accelerator program that it had kicked off in 2022. After this announcement, however, things grew very quiet.

Despite this silence, OpenAI’s Converge 2 startup accelerator program did indeed take place, as confirmed by two sources familiar with the program. TechCrunch also verified that the OpenAI Startup Fund has invested in startups from the cohort.

Sounds like OpenAI’s Converge 2 program is doing its part to mystify the startup world. Glad to hear it’s still funding innovative ideas, even if they’re keeping it on the down low.

— BrianW (@br_inkLeader) August 28, 2024

Converge 2, as the second accelerator program was called, stands as an odd exception to what is usually a mundane bit of public relations in the tech industry.

Typically, an accelerator program announces that the startups have been accepted into or graduated from its programs. After all, once it invests, it has every reason to boost those startups’ chances for success with its public stamp of approval.

But for months, a tech forum ran wild, questioning whether the Converge 2 accelerator program actually happened. Nobody on that forum, which included people who claimed they applied, heard anything.

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No one on the forum posted about getting in or even receiving rejection notices. Various sources told TechCrunch that others in the Valley were also not hearing about the program despite how high-profile OpenAI is.

This silence was unusual because it was not how the first program operated. In early 2023, OpenAI held Converge I in a typical accelerator fashion. It called for applications and then publicly announced its first four investments from the overall OpenAI Startup Fund.

In December 2023, the Open AI Startup Fund announced it would start accepting applications for the second cohort of its accelerator program, Converge 2, expected to begin in March 2024 and conclude by April.

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But then, silence. OpenAI did not issue a press release about the companies that earned investments. Even after multiple requests for comment over months, OpenAI refused to confirm whether the program took place.

Those close to the program still will not disclose why OpenAI won’t publicly announce the cohort grads. Admittedly, even Converge 1 kept its communications low-key, and the companies that were said to have partaken in it, like Cursor.AI, were revealed slowly.

Between early 2023 and today, the world has been paying much closer attention to OpenAI, especially as the company is reportedly seeking to raise another round that would value it at $100 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

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In fact, between Converge 1 and 2, the fund removed Sam Altman as its owner, replacing him with another VC, Ian Hathaway.

This change in ownership hasn’t impeded fund activity. Since January 2024, the fund has cut checks into a few new companies, according to PitchBook, such as AI chatbot Heeyo, wellness company Thrive AI Health, AI chatbot New Computer, and Ambience Healthcare, which created an AI assistant for healthcare organizations.

A source tells us that at least two of these companies participated in a Converge program, though the person would not confirm which ones, citing not wanting to incur OpenAI’s displeasure.

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Details about what happens inside the program are even more scarce. One person informed TechCrunch that the main benefit is access to OpenAI’s researchers and unreleased model technology.

This kind of access would lend itself to the theory that these companies are bound by brawny NDAs, a tool that OpenAI is known for using on its employees, as recently reported by Vox.

OpenAI’s lack of transparency has stirred confusion and speculation. While it is confirmed that the Converge 2 program took place and the OpenAI Startup Fund continues to make strategic investments, the reasons for the secrecy remain uncertain.

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This guarded approach by OpenAI might set a new precedent in the tech industry, emphasizing the value of confidentiality in maintaining a competitive edge.

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